Daijiworld Media Network - New Delhi

New Delhi, Jul 15: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has unearthed a major corruption scandal within the Northern Railway’s Gati Shakti project, arresting five individuals, including a Deputy Chief Engineer based in Lucknow.

The arrests—made as part of an ongoing probe into alleged bribery involving a sanctioned railway project in Bhadohi, Varanasi—also include a Senior Section Engineer (Drawings), an Office Superintendent, and two private employees of a railway contractor firm.

The accused were remanded to judicial custody until July 28 by the Special CBI Court in Lucknow. The case, formally registered on July 14, spans across Northern and North Eastern Railway zones, implicating officials stationed in both Lucknow and Varanasi.

According to CBI sources, the contractor company involved allegedly paid bribes to railway officials to secure favourable approvals and actions. One of the private employees was caught red-handed delivering cash to officials, triggering immediate arrests.

During the operation, CBI officials recovered:

• Rs 2.5 lakh from the Deputy Chief Engineer
• Rs 80,000 from the Office Superintendent, part of which was reportedly meant for the SSE (Drawings)

Subsequent raids at 11 locations—including Lucknow, Varanasi, and Ghaziabad—led to the seizure of incriminating documents and digital evidence.

An Assistant Executive Engineer (XEN), believed to have accepted Rs 2.75 lakh in bribes, is currently absconding, with efforts underway to trace his whereabouts.

The CBI stated that the probe is active and more arrests are expected as the investigation progresses, signaling a deep-rooted nexus of corruption in railway project execution under the Gati Shakti scheme.